Tent Confessions
by WildForWilde
Summary: "You seem so tense, do you need a backrub?" She's looking at you with that same soft smile on her face and you almost forget how to breathe.


**A/N: Slight spoilers for Pitch Perfect 2**

 **First thing I've written in a very long time, so apologies for any mistakes.**

 **My take on the infamous tent scene. Enjoy!**

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 **Tent Confessions**

A Bellas retreat is not exactly how you'd imagined your weekend going. Your initial plans of becoming a recluse and staying in your room - though you'd be lying if you said your other weekends went any other way - to produce something of merit for this damn internship had gone down the drain. Along with your hope of getting more than just 5 hours sleep. A rehearsal or two you could get out of, a two day reform programme with the girls? Not so much.

You all needed it, though. You knew you did. The Bellas had completely fallen apart over the last few months and the stress level between you all was at a record high. That thought alone made you wince slightly with guilt, knowing that you hadn't put in enough effort as you probably could've with your sets and that was one of the reasons you had ended up in this situation in the first place.

If Aubrey had told you how stressful the position of captain was - though really the vomiting was probably a big indication looking back on it - you may not have even taken over the role at the beginning of your second year. You loved it, though. You'd be lying to yourself if you said you didn't love leading the Bellas. It had been strange falling into the position of a leader, you'd never been one to take charge, but you suited the role and you worked well with the girls and they listened to you. You always had Chloe to fall back on if anything got too much for you, anyway.

It had been Chloe that suggested this retreat idea after a particularly awful performance involving confetti and God knows what else, and you as well as the others had reluctantly agreed to give it a try. Not that any of you had had much of a choice. When Chloe Beale was set on something chances are it followed through - which is how three days later you came to find yourself stepping off the Bellas bus and scrunching your face up in distaste of your immediate surroundings. You never were the outdoorsy type. But you were with you friends and maybe, you thought, this would be a good idea after all. And okay, yeah, maybe it _was_ nice to see Aubrey again - not that you'd ever tell the others that. You liked the love-hate vibe the two of you still gave off, it just worked for you both.

As soon as the words " _in a tent_ " came out of Aubrey's mouth you completely disregarded the idea that you had ever missed the blonde. Even after leaving the Bellas she was still a pain in your ass. You had glanced back at her as you all trekked over to what would be your sleeping arrangements for the next three nights and couldn't help but feel a little nostalgic when you saw her smirk slyly at you all. It was like first year all over again.

That was how you came to find yourself laying in a tent in the middle of a field with God knows how many bear traps surrounding you on a Friday night. You're in the middle of all the other Bellas along with Chloe, " _because we're co-captains and that's where we should sleep."_

You'd rolled your eyes but couldn't help but grin at the beaming Chloe Beale in front of you. Even after three years she was still the person who, even if it was only for a split second, made it seem like everything was going to work out just fine. It was a quality you really loved about Chloe, and there was a long list of things you loved about your best friend.

You're not quite sure how being cramped in a tent is going to help re-build the bond between you all, and you can't resist pointing out that ninety percent of the air you're all currently inhaling is (probably) fart. Chloe chuckles slightly at your comment and you smile.

The other Bellas are all surprisingly upbeat considering the circumstance and you have to admire that about the girls. Chloe starts singing Torn softly beside you and it's not long before the others join in. You can't help but laugh when you hear Cynthia-Rose mutter something along the lines of _"what is this white shit?"_ as the others belt out the chorus. You don't join in but you're quite happy to listen to the others enjoy themselves. Eventually they all settle down for the night to get some rest.

A few minutes later and you hear some shuffling coming from the spot beside you. Your stomach does a little flip because you just _know_ that Chloe has turned to face you and you're trying to decide whether or not meeting her in the middle is a sensible idea. Eventually the feeling of Chloe's blue eyes boring into the side of your head forces you to turn around and you can see Chloe's lips lift into a soft smile as your eyes shift to meet hers.

"What are we doing here?" You ask, both because you don't know what else to say but at the same time you don't want to say _nothing_ , either.

"We're bonding," she states matter-of-factly.

You don't really know how to reply to this so you just keep quiet and look at her. It's been especially tense between the two of you for a little while now and you're not quite sure why. Keeping the internship a secret from Chloe isn't helping the situation, but you'd noticed the growing distance between you both before you'd even been offered the position.

You're not too sure who's been doing the pulling away, or if maybe it's been both of you, but you don't like it. You furrow your brow in thought and try to think back to whatever may have set this off between the two of you. You think it may just be the stress of graduating and the prospect of not seeing each other every day, a thought that terrifies you a surreal amount. Chloe seems to notice you've phased out because you're suddenly brought out of your thoughts by a gentle hand to your forehead as she gently pushes back some of your hair.

"You seem so tense, do you need a back-rub?"

She's looking at you with that same soft smile on her face and you almost forget how to breathe. You quickly shake her off.

"Several body parts are rubbing my back right now, thank you."

It's sarcastic and blunt, just like most of your replies when Chloe gets a little too intimate with you, and you chastise your brain for it every single time. You want Chloe to reach up and stroke your hair again, but you see her stop herself and she just smiles and keeps her eyes fixed on you. You swallow hard at the intensity of her gaze and you suddenly feel very awkward.

"You know, Beca, we're very close but I think this retreat is really gonna let us discover everything about each other."

"Is that right?"

She nods with such sincerity you find it heart-warming. You're not quite sure what else the two of you could find out about each other, but then again Chloe's always found ways of surprising you.

"You know," she starts again, "one of my biggest regrets is that I didn't do enough experimenting in college."

 _Like that._

Your eyes widen and your body seizes up at the words that have just came out of your best friend's mouth. Chloe's looking at you almost expectantly with a raised eyebrow and a small smile still gracing her features.

"You're so weird." You eventually manage to stutter out before turning away again.

You think you hear the redhead mutter a _thanks_ from behind you but you're not too sure. You're not sure what had just happened. You're not sure why Chloe felt the need to confess that to you and you're _definitely_ not sure why the implications of what Chloe had just confessed has you struggling to slow your heart rate.

Except maybe you do kind of know the reason for the latter.

You screw your eyes shut and try to focus on getting some rest. Your brain is whirring and you can't stop yourself from repeating Chloe's confession again and again in your head. _Did she glance at your lips as she'd said it? Or had you just made that part up?_ You begin to wonder whether you'd had a stroke and just imagined the entire thing.

You hear Chloe shuffling beside you again but this time you decide to stay still and keep facing towards Lily. After a long few minutes of the redhead tossing and turning you hear her quietly get up and slip out of the tent. You roll over into the warm space she had just occupied and take a deep breath, the subtle scent of Chloe's perfume finding its way to your nose. The familiar scent somehow manages to simultaneously relax and panic your senses.

You bring the back of your arm up to rest on your forehead as you gaze at the tent ceiling, thinking. The other Bellas all seem to be asleep if the sound of gentle snoring is anything to go by and you're kind of envious. You spend a few minutes in this position before sitting up and glancing over towards the tent entrance, hoping to see at least the silhouette of Chloe making her way back or loitering outside.

Nothing.

A small groan escapes your lips as you debate what to do. You need to speak to her, you think. There's something going on between the two of you and you both know it. Even the other Bellas make sly comments every now and then about you both, the first of which had been way back when you had first joined the Bellas. It wasn't really until the end of your second year your brain _finally_ decided toput everything together and figure out that maybe yours and Chloe's friendship had crossed over a certain line.

You'd surprised yourself with how well you'd handled the admission in all honesty. So you had a crush on Chloe, no biggie. Nothing was ever going to come of it - you still had Jesse after all, and you loved him. At least you had done at the time. You're fairly certain the two of you are going to break up soon, and you think he knows that, too. He's been offered a dream job in New York and while you're happy for him your heart is still set on LA… and now Chloe too, apparently.

The thought of how this conversation could go makes you unbelievably anxious and slightly nauseous. You want to bail, and almost do, but a sudden image of Chloe stepping into one of the many bear traps surrounding the camp that Aubrey has warned you about forces its way into your head and you're already on your feet before you can really process what you're doing.

You haven't moved two steps before you see a flash of red ducking back inside the tent and a pair of blue eyes meeting yours again.

"Hey," you whisper.

Chloe raises an eyebrow at you but doesn't say anything as she makes her way back over to where she was laying before.

You bite your bottom lip nervously as you lay back down and shuffle around to try and get more comfortable. In reality you know you're mostly doing it to dampen the awkward silence. Chloe hasn't said anything and that unnerves you a bit.

"I was going to come and find you. Didn't want you ending up in any bear traps." You say with a small, nervous laugh laced through your voice.

You see Chloe force a smile out of the corner of your eye before turning over to face Jessica, or possibly Ashley - you still can't remember which is which.

Your eyes settle on the tent ceiling again as you try to decipher the situation. Your heart pangs when you come to the conclusion that the girl beside you is now either upset or angry, and you're not entirely sure which is worse.

The two of you had fallen out in the past, normally over small things, but neither of you had ever gone to bed annoyed or upset with the other. It's with this thought you find yourself turning around to face the redheads back and whispering her name to get her attention again.

She doesn't respond but you know she's not sleeping. You've slept beside Chloe Beale enough times to know exactly when she is and isn't asleep. That thought alone almost makes you roll your eyes at the naivety of whatever it was you thought was going on between the two of you for so long.

You lick your lips and gently call her name again, hearing the slight desperation in your voice.

It seems to work because a few seconds later Chloe shuffles around to face you once again. Your heart almost breaks when you see wet eyes that you hadn't noticed before.

"What, Beca?"

Her tone isn't harsh and there's no venom laced in her words. She sounds tired, indifferent. You almost wish she were angry at you instead.

Your mouth opens and closes a few times but nothing comes out. You can feel her waiting for you to say something, _anything,_ but you can't seem to formulate a sentence and instead just stare at her dumbly with your mouth hanging open.

She lets out a shaky breath.

"Look Beca if you don't have anything to say-"

You can see her ready to pull away from you again and you can feel the sense of panic rising in your chest. You still can't think of anything to say so instead you carefully raise your hand and wipe away the few remnant stray tears glistening on her cheek. The position you're in makes the action slightly awkward but you see her eyes flutter shut at the contact and you let out a small breath of relief.

You know you can't stay like this forever and eventually you're going to have to start verbalising your thoughts.

Except you've never been particularly good at that.

You've already initiated physical contact so you think that maybe it would be easier to go a little further and _show_ Chloe what you want her to know. Show her what you're incapable of expressing through words.

The anxious feeling from earlier reappears in your stomach as you reposition yourself. You think maybe Chloe knows what's about to happen because you see the redhead swallow hard and wet her lips as you let out a small, shaky breath. She hasn't moved closer to you, but she hasn't moved away from you, either, so you take it as a good sign and use the small boost of confidence it gives you to lean in fully and place your lips firmly over hers. The nerves in your stomach quickly dissipate and are instead replaced by a jolt of electricity running through what you're sure is your entire body as soon as you feel her gently kissing you back.

Chloe has the softest lips you've ever had the privilege of kissing. That's your first thought. Your second thought of _why haven't I done this before_ follows quickly after. You trace your thumb over her cheek again and you swear you almost die right then and there when you hear Chloe sigh contently into your mouth.

You place a few more lingering kisses on her lips before pulling away. Your eyes stay firmly shut as you desperately try to catch your breath despite the kiss only being brief.

When you do eventually find the nerve to open your eyes you're met with the pleasant site of blue orbs staring back at you. Chloe has a large smile on her face that you know she's trying to tone down a little because she's doing that thing where she bites on her lower lip and _oh God_ you just want to lean in and kiss her again and again.

"You went for the Spiderman kiss, really?" She teases airily with a small giggle.

You can't help but grin in return as you offer a small shrug. "If you're going to experiment you may as well make it a little interesting."

"So… what does this mean exactly?"

You can see her gesture between the two of you and her face is a little apprehensive.

You answer her question by reconnecting your lips again and you think it may be even better than the first time. You don't think you'll ever tire of kissing Chloe Beale.

"I think it means I kind of like you." You confess softly.

"I kind of like you, too." Chloe admits easily with a large smile.

You watch as she draws closer again and close your eyes in anticipation. Before her lips meet yours, however, you're interrupted.

"We're all glad you two finally resolved that sexual tension but can the rest of us get some sleep now? You don't get to look this good on four hours of sleep, you know."

Your eyes widen at the sound of Stacie and you can feel the heat in your cheeks intense as soon as Fat Amy decides to chip in too.

"Yeah Mitchell, keep it in your pants for one night. I'll swap rooms with Red when we get back to the Bella house so you can finally get your bhloe on."

Chloe covers her mouth to try and muffle the sound of her laughter and it almost makes you feel amused about the whole situation rather than completely mortified.

Almost _._

"We'll talk tomorrow?" Chloe asks in a hushed voice.

You smile and nod, planting a small kiss on her forehead. "Tomorrow."

The two of you talk for a little longer. Neither of you bring up what's just happened or the implications of it, you can both wait until you're somewhere you can actually talk properly. Rather it's just like a normal night at the Bellas house where you and Chloe stay up until ridiculous o'clock in the morning discussing random things and listening to music together before drifting off to sleep.

Except this time when Chloe yawns and finally decides to give into the temptation of sleep she gives you a soft kiss goodnight.

You think that you could get used to that.


End file.
